----

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  Three ninja guards stationed on the roof of the Kazekage building crumpled to the ground. Deidara had used small explosives, ensuring the sound didn't travel far.

  He nded gracefully on the rooftop, one hand touching the ground for bance. "Successful infiltration," he murmured to himself, smugly confident.

  But his triumph was short-lived.

  "That's it?" came an indifferent voice from behind him.

  Deidara froze and turned, only to find Gaara standing calmly, sand swirling menacingly around him.

  The scene was eerily simir to the time Naruto had tried to sneak past Minato and failed miserably. However, Deidara had a stronger mentality. "This saves me the trouble of looking for you"

  Deidara grinned confidently and leapt onto the back of his cy bird. He wasn't about to engage Gaara. Without preparation, it would take time to sculpt the perfect cy figure for his art.

  As Deidara's bird ascended, Gaara wasted no time. Sand surged upward, engulfing the spot where Deidara had been moments before. With a wave of his hand, Gaara sent the sand chasing after the fleeing Akatsuki member.

  "Bck cloaks with red clouds... Akatsuki," Gaara muttered. He'd been briefed by Konoha about the organization's goals, especially their interest in the tailed beasts.

  Deidara's bird was swift and agile, easily dodging Gaara's attacks. Realizing speed alone wouldn't suffice, Gaara shifted tactics.

  The ground within a 300-meter radius churned, and colossal hands of sand rose into the sky. They swiped at Deidara's comparatively small cy bird, attempting to swat him down like an insect.

  Deidara weaved through the air, using his bird's agility to evade the massive hands. Occasionally, he threw cy explosives to destroy the sand blocking his path, but Gaara's relentless pursuit left him no room for error.

  After five minutes of this aerial dance, Kankuro arrived with reinforcements, hauling a rge machine.

  "Prepare the anti-air weapon!" Kankuro commanded. "First round of test firing unch!"

  The machine fired hundreds of chakra-infused arrows, their precision guided by the ninja operating it. Gaara simultaneously used his sand to limit Deidara's movements, forcing him into the path of the arrows.

  Deidara skillfully manoeuvred his bird, dodging the first wave of projectiles. However, the second wave wasn't so forgiving these arrows were equipped with detonators.

  Boom! Boom!

  Explosions rocked the sky, shaking Deidara's bird violently. He barely managed to stabilize himself, muttering irritably, "Such poor art, hmm."

  Realizing he was outnumbered, Deidara dove toward the vilge streets, weaving between buildings to avoid further bombardment. As expected, Kankuro ceased fire to avoid colteral damage.

  With the immediate pressure lifted, Deidara smirked and hurled three cy birds at Kankuro's anti-air unit. "Two-winged birds fly fast and explode faster, hmm!"

  "Retreat!" Kankuro shouted, hastily unfurling a scroll to summon his puppets. But before he could act, the cy birds reached his position and detonated.

  Boom!

  Deidara grinned at the resulting fmes. "That's art!"

  However, his triumph was short-lived. As the smoke cleared, he saw that while the anti-air weapons were destroyed, the personnel had been shielded by a thick wall of sand.

  "Lord Kazekage!"

  "It's Lord Kazekage!"

  The surviving ninjas looked at Gaara with awe and gratitude.

  Kankuro sighed in relief, realizing how close they'd come to disaster. His command error could've cost lives, but Gaara's intervention had saved the day.

  "Fall back," Gaara ordered. He knew ordinary ninjas couldn't handle opponents of Deidara's calibre.

  Kankuro nodded, issuing orders. "The enemy specializes in explosives. Notify the barrier team immediately to ensure there are no civilian casualties! Also, alert all sentries around the vilge. The enemy may have a backup!"

  "Yes, sir!"

  The team dispersed, leaving Kankuro behind to watch Gaara rise into the air on a ptform of sand, heading toward Deidara.

  ---

  Deidara, still evading Gaara's relentless pursuit, began sculpting new cy figures with his hand mouths.

  Gaara, meanwhile, mentally communicated with Shukaku. "Shukaku, inform Naruto. The person he's been waiting for is here."

  "What's the point? Just let me kill him," Shukaku grumbled.

  "This isn't about asking for help. Naruto and his team are tracking Akatsuki. We owe him this much," Gaara replied calmly.

  Shukaku hesitated but eventually agreed. "Fine. I don't like owing that stupid fox anything."

  ---

  Naruto was jarred awake by Little Orange and Little Red, who took turns smacking his forehead.

  "Why?" Naruto groaned, sitting up groggily.

  "Go talk to the boss. Shukaku has a message for you," Little Orange said.

  Naruto rubbed his eyes, muttering, "Alright, alright." He entered the sealed space to join the "group chat."

  "What's going on?" Naruto asked, instantly alert. "Did something happen to Gaara?"

  Shukaku, surprised by Naruto's quick deduction, masked his reaction with a haughty tone. "With me here? Don't be ridiculous."

  Kurama wasn't having it. "Oh, like the time you got chained up by that monk? Want me to remind you of the details?"

  Shukaku's temper fred. "Shut up, you overgrown mutt! Want to fight?!"

  "Try me, tanuki," Kurama shot back.

  "Enough!" Naruto cut in, exasperated. "What's the situation?"

  Shukaku grudgingly reyed the details, describing Deidara's appearance and tactics.

  Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Blond uses explosives, flies on a weird bird… Definitely Deidara. That means his partner is likely Sasori."

  Without hesitation, Naruto jumped out of bed, quickly dressed, and grabbed his ninja tools.

  "Little Orange, inform my parents. I'm heading out first!" Naruto ordered before activating the Flying Thunder God Technique, teleporting to the kunai Gaara had given him.

  ---

  Naruto materialized in a dark, enclosed space, coming face-to-face with Gaara.

  "This is…" Naruto gnced around at the spherical walls, immediately recognizing it as Gaara's absolute defence. He heard explosions outside and realized how close to the action he was.

  Note to self: send a clone first next time. Teleporting straight into a battlefield isn't fun if it nds you in an explosion.

  "Naru—" Gaara's eyes widened as he spotted something behind Naruto.

  Naruto turned just in time to see white cy creeping through the sand walls, morphing into cy spiders.

  "Gaara!" Naruto grabbed his arm and yelled, "Shine!"

  ----

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